Body Games (A Games Novel) (22 page)

Alys frowned and looked over at me. “How do you figure?”

I widened my eyes, acting surprised. “Her husband’s on the jury. You don’t think he’s lobbying to get her votes? He’s been there the entire time - every time someone’s voted off, don’t you think he’s pointing out how good she’s doing? She hasn’t made enemies. I mean, other than Kip, and he won’t vote for you because he thinks we’re working together. Which we are. And you know he hates me.”

She said nothing.

I laid it on a bit thicker before letting it rest. “I mean, she’s done really awesome so far if you think about it. She’s an out-of-shape mom who’s managed to make it down to the end. That’s pretty impressive, you know?”

“Yeah,” Alys said weakly. “If I took you…who do you think would win?”

I shrugged. “It’s a toss-up, don’t you think? I’ve made a lot of enemies. Kip, Saul, Emilio, Leslie, Jendan…” God, I hated thinking about Jendan being my enemy. “I guess it just depends on how bitter the jury is.”

She brightened. “I bet they’re pretty bitter.”

Man, I sure hoped not.

~~ *** ~~

“And have you made your decision, Alys?”

I crossed my legs and tried to look supremely unconcerned as I studied the jury one last time before the vote was read. They looked tense. Well, except Kip, who just looked pissy. He was slouched low on his bench, leaning back and making it seem like he was doing us a favor by being there. Everyone else watched the proceedings somberly.

Next to me, Kissy was trembling with excitement. She kept looking over at her husband on the jury and smiling, and I wondered if she thought she had this sewn up? Of course, I thought I had this sewn up, so we both had the potential to be wrong.

Behind us, Alys fiddled with her slate. Since this was the only vote, she didn’t even have to go to the voting booth. “I did make my decision, Chip,” she said after a long moment. “And talking with my teammates helped. I heard two different arguments, but only one really rang true. So I made the only decision I could.”

Slowly, she turned the slate.

Kissy’s name was written in a small, hesitant hand. My plan had worked – Alys was keeping me. I was going to the final two.

I couldn’t help the smile spreading across my face, even as Kissy gasped and gave me a shocked look.

“Kissy, you are the final member of our jury,” Chip said as the older woman got up and headed for the path. She disappeared into the brush and I heard a small sob break out, which made me wince. Poor Kissy. I loved the lady, but neither Alys nor I could beat her at the end, so she had to go. Chip turned back to look at Alys and me. “Tomorrow night, we’ll meet back here for the final Judgment, and the jury will have a chance to give their say.”

One more night of this. Then, either Alys or I would end up a millionaire.

Alys gave me a beaming smile and I high-fived her. “Final two, like we said.”

She nodded. “I’m ready to get this over with.”

Me too. I wanted nothing more than a shower, something to eat besides coconut…and a chance to talk to Jendan. I looked in his direction one last time before leaving the Judgment area. Soon, this would all be over.

~~ *** ~~

With nothing else to do but wait for the final tribal council, Alys and I spent the day making grass skirts, bikini tops made out of banana leaves, and wove flowers and green leaves into our braided hair. We’d make it look like a party, even if it wasn’t much of one. I didn’t know how the jury was going to react to us, but I could guess that it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Well, maybe they’d be nice to Alys.

The sun finally set, and the speedboat arrived to take us to the final Judgment. Nervously, I sipped from my canteen as we bounced over the waves. My mouth was dry and my hands were clammy, a sure sign of my nervousness.

For better or for worse, it was all going to come out into the open tonight.

Alys and I sat down on the stage, in front of the flickering bonfire. To my left, Chip’s podium loomed ominously. To my right, the jury bleachers were empty. I smoothed one of my braids, adjusting the flowers to give my hands something to do.

Chip stepped up to his podium. Cameras readied. He cleared his throat, gripped the edges of the podium, and then stared down at us. “Let us bring in the members of the jury for the final Judgment.”

Rusty ambled in, his beard trimmed, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt. He frowned at both of us.

Next came Jendan, looking as breathtaking as ever. My heart fluttered at the sight of him. He was more tanned than ever, wearing a dark t-shirt that seemed to emphasize his lean muscles, and a pair of khaki shorts. After him was Kip, dressed in a white wife-beater and low-slung jeans, looking like a dark prince. I was immune to his good looks now, though; his full mouth seemed less succulent and more pouty. I liked Jendan’s thinner mouth, because it always seemed ready to curl into a smile.

Next came Saul, Emilio, and Leslie. Bringing up the rear was Kissy, a sad look on her face.

Everyone was here now, and the looks on their faces were deceptively mild. Leslie eyed our leafy costumes with open disgust.

Oh, we were going to get
slammed
. I just knew it.

I steeled myself for the inevitable. As long as I knew it was coming, it’d hurt less.

Theoretically.

“We have gathered here for the final Judgment,” Chip said slowly, emphasizing each word for drama. “Tonight, our jury will be deciding if they wish to vote for Annabelle or Alys as the winner of
Endurance Island:
Power Players
. It’s been a long journey for everyone - six weeks of mayhem and scheming, six weeks of challenges, team shuffles, and surprises. And tonight…it comes to an end.”

He gave Alys and me a narrowed glance. “I’ll let the two of you speak your case to the jury before we let them ask questions. Alys…why don’t you go first?”

Next to me, Alys straightened. She beamed a smile at the jury. “I know you guys can’t be thrilled that it’s two girls sitting here. I’m sure you wanted it to be all guys at the end. But we got here fair and square, and I think you should vote for who deserves the money based on how well we played.” She touched a hand to her leaf-covered chest. “I tried to play a good, clean game. Some people got hurt, inevitably, but in the end, I did what I had to do to get here. When people approached me to make a big game play, I went along with it, because as long as it wasn’t me, I knew I’d stay in the game a few more days. That was my method, and it worked really well.” She nodded and then looked at me.

It wasn’t a bad speech. And she
had
played a pretty clean game, if you ignored the fact that she’d voted out her own partner for the girl’s alliance.

“Annabelle, your turn,” Chip said.

I crossed my legs and clasped my hands on my knee, giving them my best, Southern girl finishing school pose. “I could sit here and butter y’all up and tell you what you want to hear, but I’m going to give you the truth. I came out here to play like a dick.”

Emilio smothered a laugh, earning a stern look from Chip.

“It’s true,” I said, unable to look Jendan in the eye, even though I knew he must have been staring at me. Instead, I focused on a mole on Kip’s cheek. “It started last season, when I played. That time, I was still kinda stupid and naive about how the world works. Kip flirted with me, and I flirted back, and we had an island thing going. At least, I thought it was real. It turned out that Kip was just using me to get my vote, and I realized it all when I got home and watched things on TV. Not only had Kip totally used me, but I looked like an idiot. So I came out here wanting two major things.” I lifted a hand and raised two fingers in the air. “One, to screw over Kip’s game.”

That got a reaction from people. Eyes widened. Someone tried to bury an uncomfortable laugh.

“And I did, finally,” I said, continuing. I lowered a finger. “Purpose number two was to change how people perceived me from the last game. I didn’t want to come out here and play the exact same way as before. So this time, I trusted no one. I looked out for me and only me. I said that going in, and I stuck to my guns. It didn’t matter who I had to step on to get ahead, but I would. Because I learned something really important last season - it doesn’t matter how nice you are or how kind, or how many friends you leave the island with. The nice people don’t win the game. But a dick? A dick gets respect. So I played like a dick. It’s not who I am outside of the game, but in the game? I played nasty. I voted out my own partner, even though he was the nicest, sweetest man I’ve ever met. I deliberately tried to lose challenges so others wouldn’t see me as a threat. I orchestrated the women to vote out the men. I left the clue in the tribal mailbox for Pandora’s Box, knowing that it couldn’t be anything good, so Leslie or someone else would find it. I roped in Alys and brought her to the end because she played a pussy game.” Next to me, Alys gasped. “I talked her into taking me instead of Kissy to the end. Like I said, I played like a dick. That was my strategy, and I hope you respect it.”

And I turned to look at Chip, feeling like I left it all on the table. “Thank you.”

He blinked repeatedly. “Thank you. We’re probably going to have to bleep half of that, but thank you.” He looked over at the jury. “Now it’s your turn to ask the questions. We’ll let each of you have a turn to speak, and then it’s time to vote. Let’s go in reverse order of how you were voted out. Kissy, that means you first.”

Kissy stood, wearing an ugly, shapeless island muumuu that seemed to be made of the same material as Rusty’s shirt. She smoothed her mullet and looked at the two of us. “I just would like to know why I wasn’t chosen to go to the final two with you, Alys.”

Next to me, Alys shifted uncomfortably. “It seemed like the right decision to make.”

“But why?” Kissy asked.

“I don’t know,” Alys mumbled. “I just thought…it would be a bad idea to take you.” She looked over at me helplessly, and as she did, I felt a twinge of guilt for her. Was Alys always this indecisive? I knew I could use that to nail her to the wall at this vote, but something about that seemed cruel. But she was floundering, and it was only the first question.

“Can I step in?” I asked Alys.

She nodded quickly.

I looked at Kissy. “Alys and I discussed it. You’re an older lady. You’re a mom. You’re a hard-worker. You’re likable.” I ticked these all off on my fingers. “You have a husband on the jury that can influence votes in your direction. All of those stack the deck in your direction.”

She seemed to preen a bit, then looked at Alys, her eyes shrewd. “You guys discussed it?”

“We did.”

“Or did Annabelle tell you this?” Kissy looked at me. “Was it really a discussion or more of Annabelle’s suggestion?”

I remained silent. I’d let Alys hang herself if she wanted to.

After a too-long, uncomfortable moment, Alys answered. “It…might have been Annabelle.”

“Thank you,” Kissy said, and turned to sit back down.

The rest of the questions went along those lines. The jury tore into our game play and tried to pick us apart. Leslie made some cruel, nasty comments that left Alys teary, and me irritated. Kip asked some long, annoying question about dating and reality and how both Alys and I were losers. I dismissed it. Sour grapes. Saul was a dick and a chauvinist. Emilio wanted to know who we regretted kicking out of the game. Alys said Saul.

I said no one, because it had to be done.

I mean, I regretted the loss of Jendan, but that was purely emotional, and those emotions had no place in the game itself. I knew that if he was still in the game, things might not have gone as well as they did.

Still, when Jendan stood to ask his questions, I got a nervous flutter in my stomach. I wrapped my arms around my waist and leaned in, hugging myself as he walked to the center of the small stage. Then he turned and looked at Alys and me. “Ladies.”

“Hi,” we said, our voices weak.

“Alys, I just want you to name a big move that you did in this game.”

She thought for a moment, then answered, “I voted with the women.”

Jendan shook his head, and his voice was sterner than I’d ever heard it. “That wasn’t your move, though, was it? That was Annabelle’s move. It sounds like she was the one that orchestrated the women voting together. Is that correct?”

“We all had a say in it—“

“But it was Annabelle that pulled it together, right? You just went along with it?”

“I guess so, yes,” she snapped, annoyed.

“Thank you.” He turned those heavenly gray eyes on me. “Annabelle.”

“Hi,” I murmured again, inwardly wincing at the husky note in my voice. God, could I be more obvious how I felt about him?

But Jendan was all business. “It’s obvious that you’re a methodical thinker, Annabelle. I just have a quick question for you. When did you find Pandora’s Box?”

That…wasn’t what I was expecting. What did he want to hear? I bit my lip, and then answered truthfully. “The first week we got on the island.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“No.”

“And did we know each other at that point?”